1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a technique of managing stages of processing negative films and a photosensitive material such as printing paper in a photographic processing apparatus having an exposing section for printing images of negative films received from a negative film feeder on printing paper, a negative film outlet for discharging the negative films used in the exposing section, and a developing section for developing the printing paper printed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the photographic processing apparatus noted above, a combination of negative films and prints processed as one unit usually is based on a single length of negative film or one set of piece negatives (cut negative films each having four or six frames) ordered by a customer. This one unit is called one order also. When the same customer orders printing of several negative films or several sets of piece negatives at the same time, they are processed as separate orders. A photographic processing apparatus for collating piece negatives (one long negative film ultimately being cut to piece negatives of a predetermined length) and prints in one order or unit and automatically putting the negatives and prints in a product packet is known from Japanese Patent Publication Kokai No. H6-43622, for example. This photographic processing apparatus includes a stage of collating piece negatives and prints, in which the piece negatives in one unit inserted into negative sheets after an exposing process are put into a print packet printed with an ID of these piece negatives. The ID on the print packet is compared with IDs of prints transported unit by unit by a sorter. The prints in one unit having the same ID are put into this print packet to be combined with the piece negatives having this ID. Further, Patent Publication Kokai No. H7-219201 discloses that a film ID originally given to a photographic film at the manufacturing stage is read in time of development and printing, and the ID is printed on printing paper after images are printed thereon, and on a product packet for receiving the film. This facilitates a collation of photographic film and printing paper (or prints).
A management system using a common ID as noted above contributes to some degree to simplification of the collating operation at the final stage of photographic processing. However, a film ID originally given to a photographic film is not obtained until it is read by some reading device provided for a photographic processing apparatus. It is therefore inconvenient to use it as a key code for management of photographic processing in the photographic processing apparatus. There is hardly any chance of film IDs of negative films continuously fed into the photographic processing apparatus being consecutive codes. Even if the film IDs are in the form of visually recognizable codes, there are just random rows of codes very difficult to recognize.
Further, to realize a real-time management of entire processing of negative films and prints, it is necessary to associate negative films and prints with each other which have encountered varied events, particularly troubles, in the course of photographic processing. Such association is impossible with the conventional ID management system noted above.